Dressed to impress
by LNicol1990
Summary: A happy event with a friend leaves Charley in a spot of trouble, and the Biker Mice have to come to more than just her rescue, meeting up with an old enemy from the pits. This is my first fanfic here.
1. The night before

This is set any time after 'The Pits'. I don't own the Biker Mice from Mars; I do own Harmony, Kate, Liz and Emma.

Dressed to impress

_The night before..._

A pale hand wiped the steam off the mirror, and Charley stared at her reflection dangerously. She scrutinised herself, daring her reflection to show some flaw. And then, she saw it.

A scream of frustration and a string of insults erupted from the bathroom, right into the ears of a passing-by, tan-furred mouse. Throttle stopped in his tracks, giving the bathroom door a wary side-glance. After a quick scan of the area, he moved towards the door and gently tapped.

"Hey Charley, everything okay in there?" he asked softly. Usually it was the mice who would spend ages in the shower; Charley had been in there for two hours.

There was a pause and silence. Suddenly there was a rustling of towels and the door opened. Steam poured out of the bathroom and Charley leaned out through the door, a towel around her torso. It took a lot of self-restraint for Throttle not to laugh or shrink away from her outraged expression.

"Is it me… or is there some grime in my hair?!" she demanded venomously, tugging at a clump of hair.

"It…" Throttle, unsure of Charley's attitude or sudden interest in her appearance, decided to go for a diplomatic answer. "It looks fine to me."

"Fine? Fine?" Charley whined. "It can't just look fine! It has to be prefect!" She frowned and sighed glumly. "I'm gonna run out of shampoo."

And with that, she closed the door. The sound of the shower could be heard from within the bathroom, even though Charley looked like she wore a skin one size too big for her.

Throttle took the opportunity and took to actively searching for Modo; he had a certain way of calming Charley down, and by the looks of things, Modo's touch was going to be needed.

Charley was once again staring into the mirror, fuming at that one spot. It almost seemed to mock her. The one time she needed to be spotless, this had to happen to her.

A second knock on the door made Charley glare past her own reflection.

"Charley, ma'am?"

Modo's cautious voice turned her glare into a sad irritation. Wrapping the towel tighter around herself, she made her way to the door. Modo had a certain problem about seeing her in nothing but a towel.

Again, she peered out of the stream, this time to look into the grey-furred mouse's concerned face. No matter what mood she was in, she could never scowl towards Modo.

"Uh… is everything okay? Throttle said you've been in here for a while," Modo explained.

"Modo, does this clump of hair have any grease or oil in it?" she asked sadly, hating to ask him for his opinion. Modo was always the most honest, and that was the problem.

"Not really, ma'am. Why so bothered?" he asked.

"Because otherwise, I'm gonna ruin tomorrow," she explained.

"Uh, what's happening tomorrow?"

"I've got a friend who's getting married tomorrow. I'm the maid of honour, and I've got oil in my hair that won't budge!" she cried.

"'Made of honour'?"

"It's a title for a bridesmaid. I'm one of Harmony's closest friends, and she asked me if I'd be her maid of honour," Charley explained. "I helped her pick out her dress, helped her organise the wedding, organised her hen night, and I'm going to be the one to hold the groom's ring at the wedding."

"So… how does your hair fit in with this?" the husky voice of Throttle asked cautiously.

Charley peered from beyond the doorway, trying to find the mouse to the voice. She saw him leaning against the wall, several strides away from the bathroom. He seemed to tense up when he saw that she had found him.

"It's a formal occasion. I have to look my best," she explained. "And this clump of hair doesn't want to give up the oil from the garage."

Throttle pushed himself off the wall and joined Modo's side. He looked to his bro and then turned towards Charley.

"Want me to have a try?" he asked genuinely.

Charley went silent, a thoughtful look on her face. After a moment, she retreated back into the bathroom.

The two mice looked at each other, whilst rustling sounds could be heard in the bathroom. They both returned their gaze to the door when it reopened, more fully this time.

Charley stood aside to let Throttle in. She was wearing black underwear and a black tank top. It was obvious that she'd put on some clothing so Throttle didn't see her in full glory.

_That's our Charley; always the modest one,_ he thought as he slid into the steamy bathroom.

Charley said nothing, but returned to the bath tub/shower and sat down in the bottom and just looked grumpily at the floor. She was muttering something about wasting time and shampoo for something that wasn't going to shift. She didn't look up as Throttle turned on the shower and began wetting down her hair.

He wasn't exactly sure of what he was doing, but he'd figured out how to work tough grease out of his own hair. Now he just had to do the same for Charley.

He squirted a small amount of shampoo into his hand and he began to lather it into her trouble spot. It felt strange to be cleaning Charley's hair for her, but she wasn't complaining.

"Umm… Throttle?" her voice was quiet, and he wondered if he'd been too rough, or something similar.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry for snapping at you earlier," she apologised, earnestly.

His mind instantly raced, wondering when she'd snapped at him. He was about to ask her when that had been and then he remembered when he'd knocked on the door.

"Don't worry about it," he assured her. "Life couplings on Mars were just as stressful."

"I'm still sorry. You asked me a concerned question and I nearly bit your head off. You'd think I was the one getting married by the way I'm acting."

Throttle didn't reply. Instead, he thought hard about what Charley had just said. She had been acting strangely for a while, and none of the mice had thought to ask her why. Charley was usually quite level-headed even in stressful situations, why would a 'wedding' be any different?

"Uhhh… is that why you've been…?" Throttle trailed off, not entirely sure if he wanted to finish his sentence.

"Kinda," she admitted. "The last wedding I went to, I was six. They put me in a stupid dress and I tripped over halfway down the aisle. The bride tripped as well and landed on top of me. My aunt was not impressed and told me that I'd ruined her wedding."

"Because you tripped?" Throttle asked.

"Because she tripped. She was the one getting married. My dad told me later that she was being over-dramatic and he bought me some ice cream to make me feel better."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Throttle said comfortingly.

He withdrew the shower head and inspected the patch of hair he'd been washing. It looked okay to him, but Charley was going to have the last say about this. He stepped back to let her up.

Charley was soaked, and her underwear clung to her body. Throttle inwardly thanked the heavens that she was wearing black; white was see-through when it was wet. The mice had learnt that when Charley had fallen into the river. Thankfully, she had been wearing a swimming costume underneath, otherwise that would have been awkward.

"Thanks, Throttle," Charley inspected her hair in the mirror, a towel in hand. She looked simply relieved.

She smiled at him, and then wrapped a large towel around herself and exited the bathroom. She shivered in the cool air and hurried to her room.

Throttle, however, felt that there was something she wasn't telling him. There was a good reason why she was getting stressed over this 'wedding', and he was close to positive that it wasn't because of some accident back when she was a child.

_It's none of my business,_ he thought to himself. _If Charley wants to tell someone, then we'll be here to listen to her._

But he knew when he could do no more. And, with the night's excitement over, he left sweltering bathroom, rejoicing at breathing in steam-free air. And, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, he sauntered down to kitchen to find Modo and Vinnie dishing out hot dogs and root beers.

"Everything okay with Charley-girl?" the white mouse asked. Obviously Modo hadn't done a good job of cluing him in.

"Yeah," he replied plainly. "She's going to Earth's version of a Martian life coupling tomorrow. They call it a wedding," he explained.

His bros pulled one of their many faces; this one was, as Charley called it, the light bulb expression.

"Oh Mama!" Modo sighed surprised.

"Why didn't she tell us?" Vinnie asked rhetorically.

Throttle said nothing, merely shrugged his shoulders. Then he walked up to the plate of hot dogs and picked up two and swiped a root beer from the table. He tried to ignore his bros, and successfully left the room before breaking into a grin. The expression on their faces was priceless.

_If only Charley could see this,_ he thought as he tucked into his first dog.


	2. The preparations

_The preparations..._

Vinnie was grateful when Charley finally got off his bike. Usually, he didn't care at all having her behind him, holding him around his waist with his tail around hers. He kinda liked it, to be truthful. He didn't really understand why, but it felt good, filling him with something that stunts on his bike couldn't compare to.

However, today, Charley felt wrong. For one thing, she was far too clean. He was used to her having flat hair, often with some manner of grease in it, and her skin always had a matt look. But today, her hair was full of life, reflecting the sunlight, and her skin positively glowed.

It brought him down. For some reason, he couldn't shake off the feeling that, like this, he wasn't good enough for Charley. Clean, she was completely out of his league, was above his flirting and jokes. It simply felt wrong for him to be this close to her.

_It'll be fine. She'll be Charley-girl tomorrow, and everything will be back to normal,_ he told himself, praying that it was true.

"Thanks for the ride, guys," Charley smiled at the mice, rummaging through the small bag she'd brought.

"You got everything?" Throttle asked.

"Uh, let's see… brush… comb… makeup… tissues… paper bags… and…" Charley recited, not noticing who she was talking to. Then her face fell into a look of horror.

"The ring! Where's the ring?!" she shrieked.

Modo quietly coughed and extended his hand. A small, velvet box was resting in his palm. He decided not to mention that she had asked him to look after it for her, since she didn't trust herself.

Charley stared at the box for a while before half-skipping, half-running to his side. She relieved him of the box, and gave him a grateful kiss on his cheek.

Modo turned bright red under his grey fur.

"How long is this thing gonna be?" Vinnie asked.

"Well, the ceremony is about an hour and a half. That starts at eleven. Then there's the party afterwards, and that will probably last until six. Harmony's plane leaves at seven, and they'll want plenty of time to get there and check in."

"So, you'll be gone all day," Throttle stated.

"Pretty much. If you guys want, I could try and get you some of the cake," she offered.

"Don't worry about us, Charley ma'am. You just enjoy the day," Modo instructed kindly.

"Yeah, we can entertain ourselves for a day," Throttle agreed, already planning a way to destroy Limburger's newly built tower.

Charley, however, had spent enough time around the mice to know their definition of 'entertainment'. She knew that they wouldn't be so dumb as to total the garage, but there were places of less value to them.

"Well, try not to entertain yourselves near the airport. I'd hate Harmony to miss her flight and be in Chicago for her honeymoon."

And with that, she raced into the church and disappeared inside. She heard the boys race away with their infamous 'Rock and Ride' motto hanging in the air. She personally wished that she hadn't left her seat on Vinnie's bike, but this was not her day: it was Harmony's.

Charley breathed deeply as she made her way to the back, where everyone was getting ready. This was where she would become a bridesmaid.

As Charley entered the room, she was greeted by the face of a second bridesmaid, Kate, who had been pacing. The bride, Harmony, was sitting down, and looked like she was about to be ill. The third woman in the room was another bridesmaid, Emma, and she was trying to help Harmony breathe slower.

_She always did panic,_ Charley thought as she strode up to Harmony and handed her one of the many paper bags.

Harmony lifted her blonde head and looked at Charley with frightened, hazel eyes. When she saw it was Charley who had handed her the bag, she looked relieved and took the bag silently.

Charley turned round and looked for her dress. Unlike the others, who had probably dressed at home, Charley hadn't dared to get any more prepared than her hair and nails. Taking the pristine white dress back to the garage was an almost certain recipe for disaster.

Harmony hadn't adorned her bridal dress, either, so Charley wasn't alone in late preparations.

Charley ignored everyone whilst she slipped out of her street clothes and into the dress. It was a plain design, since she hadn't been able to afford much more. It was a sleeveless dress, sliver thread embroidering the corset, and it ran smoothly down to her ankles. It was beautiful, and she didn't belong in it.

Charley wore long-sleeved, dark tops and jeans most of the time. Anything else was just going to be ruined in the garage. And yet now, here she was, wearing the most gorgeous dress she'd ever seen, and she felt like an idiot, uncomfortable and in a totally alien world.

_I wonder if the guys ever feel like this…_ she wondered.

But, it didn't matter. She was now ready for the wedding, and she had to help Harmony. Or so she had thought.

"So you're here, finally," a voice stated spitefully from the doorway. It was Liz, Harmony's last bridesmaid and the only one who took to her like sugar to vinegar.

"I said I would be here at half nine, and I'm here, at half nine," Charley replied, trying to keep her voice neutral.

Liz's sour face stared at her with contempt. She would have been alright with Charley, had she been the maid of honour. For some reason, Liz had believed that she was the only one who deserved the title. She would have been gladly given it by Charley, had Harmony not said that Charley was her best friend.

So, Charley now had to endure a whole day of pouting from Liz, who she didn't even know. Charley didn't know anyone who was going to be at the wedding, and this, above all else, was making her feel more than a little insecure.

_Suck it up, Charley. You're here because Harmony asked you to come, and you will not spoil it for her. Make a truce with Liz, right here, right now, and enjoy the day._

Charley walked calmly up to Liz. The other bridesmaid was wearing a much snazzier dress, almost to prove to Charley that she was better and more deserving to be here than she was. Charley shoved that thought viciously out of her mind, and took in a deep breath.

"Liz… you don't like me, I accept that. But, do you think you and I could at least act civil and polite to each other, without making underlying insults? Could we do that at least until Harmony is sipping cocktails on a beach in Ibiza?" she asked, almost begging, in a whisper. She didn't want Harmony to hear.

"Sure, I can do that, for Harmony," Liz replied curtly.

_Isn't it great to have a friend whose name can be used on two levels?_ Charley thought to herself. But Liz's quick acceptance to the truce was more than a little worrying. She had something that she was going to say, and Charley didn't like to ponder.

"You know, you actually look quite pretty in that dress," Liz complemented, setting off every alarm bell in Charley's head.

"Thank you," Charley replied. "You look good in yours."

"Well, I knew I was going to look good. But you… I was wondering that, if you spent most of your time around all that dirt and grime, it would get into your body and you'd start sweating oil. Interesting to see that I was wrong."

With that, Liz moved off smugly, pleased with her leaving remark.

Charley was speechless. Sweating oil? Her mind instantly stumbled into an image of Greasepit, one of the foul henchmen of Laurence Limburger. She wondered if he really did sweat oil and grease. As that image found its way to the forefront of her mind, she found herself imagining Greasepit in her dress, oozing his oil-sweat down the beautiful creation, staining and ruining it for all eternity. And then, Greasepit turned into her. She was wearing a ruined dress and was sweating oil, just like him.

She felt a single tear run down her face. So much for the truce.


	3. The snatch

_The snatch_

The mice watched from the other side of the street as Limburger's latest tower went crashing to the floor. He hadn't done anything of interest to deserve losing his tower, but if asked, the mice would reply that he was a Plutarkian, and that was reason enough.

Throttle and Modo knew something was up the moment Vinnie didn't start laughing and calling them the baddest mamma-jammers in the universe. They both cocked their heads in the direction of the white mouse.

Vinnie hadn't even been watching his second favourite pastime of watching Limburger's tower crumbling to dust. His sight was towards a small church that he couldn't even see. More to the point, he was looking in the direction of a certain mechanic.

"You think Charley-girl's okay?" he asked, feeling his bros' eyes on his back.

"'Course," Modo stated. "Why wouldn't she be?"

Vinnie didn't answer, just kept on staring in the general direction of the church. However, his question had sent doubts crawling through Throttle's mind, too.

She had seemed uncomfortable that morning, as if she was regretting waking up. He'd watched her quietly tear the empty sugar sachet packets to pieces, whilst putting far too much sweetener into her coffee. She had struggled to keep her face straight when she drank.

_It was as if she was punishing herself for something, or maybe steeling herself for the day. Life coupling ceremonies can be really stressful; a wedding's probably no different on Earth, _Throttle told himself, wishing it gave him more comfort than it actually did.

His musings were, however, interrupted when the roaring sound of over-revved engines and the manic laughter of speed junkies and boy racers. Although the bros were equally guilty of these charges, there weren't usually screaming citizens fleeing in all directions.

As the bros turned their attention to this new distraction, a certain familiarity began to twinge in the back of their minds. It wasn't until the group raced round a corner, and into the bros' sight, that they realised it was-

"The Pit crew!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"What are they doing here?!" Modo demanded.

"Well, whatever it is, it's time to cause then some trouble," Vinnie stated, eager for a fight. Anything to get his mind off Charley for a while.

"Let's ride!" Throttle shouted as the trio rode off the roof they'd been observing the destruction of Limburger's tower.

Charley gazed supportively into Harmony's eyes. She smiled as she lowered the veil over her friend's face. She had never seen Harmony so sure about something before.

"I'm going to marry him, Charlene. No matter what, I'm marrying him today," Harmony stated without the slightest hint of fear or doubt.

"Okay then," Charley smiled harder. "Let's get you to him."

Charley turned round and tried to avoid tensing up her shoulders. Although everyone would think she was trying to keep her excitement under control, the truth was, Charley was trying not to notice Liz standing next to her.

Liz was also ignoring Charley, despite needing her to say when they all had to walk forward. She had obviously been expecting a bigger response from Charley than she'd got.

After a quick check to confirm that everyone was ready, Charley counted down and the five of them moved away in perfect synchronisation. They formed a living, flowing sheet of white that was slowly, steadily moving down the aisle.

The music from the organ echoed in the tiny church, but Charley heard something else. She knew it instantly as a banged up convertible, struggling 40,000 RPMs with all the sludge that lay under the bonnet.

She'd impressed Throttle the night they'd met by showing off that same trick. She'd been around engines since she was a child, and had perfect hearing when it came to knowing what was wrong with them. She'd only listened to Throttle's bike rev up and she had given the bros an in-depth analysis of what was wrong. She'd stunned them all into silence with that.

_However, this convertible sounded like it was ready for scrapping. It sounded like it needed to get thrown into the depths of the…_

Charley never finished her train of thought, as the very convertible, which she'd heard, came crashing through the church doors, mere centimetres away from where the five women were standing. As it screeched to a halt, seven muscular men launched themselves out of the vehicle. Some raised weapons to keep the guests in their seats.

Charley took the opportunity to stand beside Harmony and remove the veil from her hair. For some reason, she felt this was the safest move to make. She ignored Harmony staring at her in confusion.

One of the men strode up and stared at Harmony and then at the bridesmaids before finally resting on Charley, with Harmony's veil in her hands. He grinned maliciously as he grabbed Charley's upper arm, uncaring that she winced at his grip or struggled to free herself.

"Take the others!" he ordered, pulling Charley towards the vehicle.

She only had a few seconds to watch Harmony, Kate, Emma and Liz getting grabbed by one goon or another and were thrown into the convertible with her. She could hear the guests making some cries of despair or gasping in horror, but none dared move from their seats.

The men then jumped back into the convertible. The engine revved, and its wheels screeched as the vehicle pulled off an impressive 180° handbrake turn and left through the same hole it had made coming in.

Charley managed to raise her head to see where they were going, and saw the church was shrinking at an alarming rate. Then a second vehicle, equally as totalled as the one she'd been dumped in, came out of a side street and into full view. She saw it swerve and sped away towards the church.

Before she had time to comprehend this, Charley's eyes and ears heard the song of a beautifully maintained, artificially intelligent, red racing motorbike. A certain white furred speed freak was riding this bike.

With only seconds to spare, Charley gave her captors a glance to check if they were watching her. Seeing that they weren't, she took in a deep breath and did what any respectable damsel in distress would do.

"VINNIE!"

The poor mouse, startled by hearing someone behind him screaming his name, had turned around so much to see what was going on, he veered off to a side, lost control of his momentum and ended rolling his bike and getting thrown off it like a conker on a broken string.

Tearing his helmet off in confusion, Vinnie turned to see five white figures, four of them were nothing more than strangers to him but the fifth… The fifth who had a thug with his hand over her mouth, in a simple, pure white dress was-

"Charley!" Vinnie yelled in realisation.

_She looks so clean, so pure, so completely un-Charley._ Vinnie had never seen her in a dress before, and he'd only seen her wearing white once. She reminded him of an old Martian tale, of a maiden mouse who made a pact with the old gods, to never age and never die, so long as she never coupled with another, for if she did, all the years would return to her and she would turn into the sand and dust of the Martian deserts.

_So fragile, like that maiden mouse._

Then, he felt an uncontrollable anger. That thug was from the pits. He was low-life, and didn't even deserve to be in the same city as Charley, let alone hold her roughly and stop her from speaking.

Turning round, he whistled his bike, which instantly came to life and roared up to him. He slammed his helmet back down on his head. Ignoring the pain his rough handling of his helmet had brought to his antennae, Vinnie mounted his biker and forced all acceleration out of his bike to gain speed and catch up with the car, and Charley.

He ignored his bros calling him, and was oblivious to their pursuit. All that mattered was Charley. Getting Charley out of that goon's hands and pummelling his face until he was within an inch of his life.

He could see Charley's hopeful face, the gratitude that he always got from her whenever he saved her life. He was going to save her again. She would hug him like she hadn't seen him in years, or as if she had thought him dead. She-

-suddenly had a face of shock and fright. She slowly started to sink, lower and lower and lower until she was gone from his sight.

Vinnie squeezed on his breaks like his life depended on it. Once he had skidded to a halt he found himself staring directly downwards, right into the black abyss that was the heart of the pits.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the last glimpse of her despairing face as she had sank into the world below. It was a haunting look that betrayed her feelings of hopelessness.

He'd let her down. For once, he hadn't stopped her fall.

"Charley…"


	4. The worst deal

_The worst deal…_

The first thing Charley knew was that she was face down in mud. Normally, this would have just left her confused, but today, she was worried. AS she concentrated on why she was worried, she remembered.

_The Pit crew snatching her and the girls at the wedding… Screaming to Vinnie… His face in total shock and rage as he tore after them… The convertible driving over the Pit's precipice, taking the Pit crew and her down… Vinnie watching, until he disappeared as she fell through the fog…_

Charley felt a tear fall down her face. The mice had prided themselves at being her saviours, catching her when she fell, saving her when she was threatened, protecting her from danger. They had all felt so terrible when she had disguised herself as the Masked Motorcyclist and had been hurt.

_Vinnie will be so angry at himself,_ she thought sadly.

Then, a hand touched Charley's shoulder, and was roughly making its way up to her face. She tried to remain relaxed, and waited. When the hand touched her cheek, she opened her mouth, twisted her head slightly, and then clamped down on two unsuspecting fingers.

"Yeeoow!" a familiar voice screeched in surprise. "Whoever you are: let go of me!"

Charley mentally reminder herself to tell whoever said that revenge was a sweet dish that was best served cold, it was actually a hot dish that tasted of mud and expensive hand cream. She then breathed in through her nose and then, after a spiteful constriction of her jaw, she spat out Liz's fingers.

Realising that retribution was imminent, she rolled away from Liz and stood up. From an upright position, she could see everything much clearer. All the girls were there: Liz, Harmony, Emma and Kate. All were wearing now dirty and ruined dresses, caked in mud to various degrees, and they were all scared, miserable, but unharmed.

Charley, satisfied with her evaluation of the others, turned to survey her surroundings. They were in a large cage with no roof. Above them were mile-high cliffs that stretched endlessly in both directions. The sky wasn't visible in the gloomy depths beneath the fog. Only by the dim light, could Charley tell that it was day.

"We're all gonna die," Emma whispered hysterically. "We're all gonna die!"

"If they were gonna kill us, they'd have done it in the church," Kate reasoned.

"Then why do they want us?" Harmony asked sadly.

"Who knows!" Liz snapped. "But I do know it's all your fault!" She pointed to Charley.

"My fault?!" Charley exclaimed.

"Yeah your fault! I don't know how, or why, but I know you did this!"

"What could I possibly gain from ruining the wedding?" Charley demanded

Liz opened her mouth but no sound came out. Aware that she was beginning to look like a fish, she closed her mouth.

"Where are we?" Kate quizzed.

"It looks like the Pits," Emma replied solemnly.

"The Pits?! We can't be in the Pits! The wedding-"

"Harm!" Charley interjected. Striding over to her hysterical friend, she knelt down and stared Harmony in the eyes. "Look at me. This is your wedding day. You are going to get married today."

"And just how, pray tell, are you going to manage that?" Liz asked sceptically.

"My friends will come and rescue us."

"Would they be the same said friends who chased us before we went over the cliff?"

"Yeah, they would be those same said friends," Charley replied, mimicking Liz's choice of words.

"And why would they help us?"

Charley thought about how she should best answer. Finally, she came up with the best response she could think of. She looked towards Liz and smirked.

"Cause I'm their girl, and they give hell to anyone who hurts me."

She suppressed the desire to grin harder when she saw Liz's face fall. However the desire was short lived, as she saw figures walking up to the cage.

She slowly rose to face these new people, and the others followed suit. Two burly men strode in with weapons raised at them, as if daring them to move. Then a large man, at least six feet tall, calmly walked in.

He looked like a biker with long blonde hair and a large bald patch on the top of his head. Charley instantly recognised him, from the bro's accounts of the Pits, as Pit Boss.

"Well, well, well…" Pit Boss said slyly. "What do we have here?"

Charley didn't move, but watched him stroll up to the closest girl, Liz. She had seen Liz as a fierce, even rabid, tiger, but now, she was a kitten. Liz was trembling as Pit Boss moved his hand and caressed her cheek. Even towards enemies, Charley had limits.

"Liz!" she ordered.

Pit Boss dropped his hand and stared at Charley. Liz quickly fled to hide behind her like a child. All the while, Charley couldn't help but feel that she'd just put herself in the spotlight, and she was finding it more than a little hot.

"And who might you be?" Pit Boss asked in an oily voice.

"Miss Charlene Davidson, and you've just ruined the best day of my life," She replied viciously.

"I'm sorry, **Miss **Davidson," Pit Boss' emphasis on her title couldn't have been any clearer. "Let me… make it up to you."

Harmony gasped behind Charley, as they all realised what he was implying. _He thinks _I'm _the one getting married,_ Charley thought. _Good, distract him with me, keep Harmony safe._

"And how exactly would you 'make it up' to me?" she asked innocently.

"Well, I ruined your wedding up there, so I'll give you one down here instead," he explained, smiling at her.

_Sweet Lord! Has this guy ever met a toothbrush?!_ Charley inwardly shrank away from the yellow, rotting teeth. She visibly flinched at what he was suggesting. Thinking quickly, she came up with a reasonable, if not naïve, response.

"But you left my groom behind. How can I marry him, if he's up there and I'm down here?"

"You won't be marrying him; you'll be marrying me. You're gonna become **Mrs** Pit Boss."

_I'd rather kiss Limburger, Greasepit, and Karbunkle! Marry the Pit Boss?!_ Charley was stunned. Implications were a completely different thing to actually being told. Inwardly scolding herself for freezing, she kicked her brain into action. _Keep Harmony and the girls safe. The guys will come and rescue me. I have to keep Pit Boss at bay until they get here!_

"Let's pretend, for a second, that I don't agree to your proposal, what'll happen to the others?"

"I'm sure one of them'll be happy to take your place."

"And if I did agree?"

"They'll find others in the Pits, all waiting to become happy husbands."

"Okay, Pit Boss, I'll agree to this-"

"Charley, no!" Harmony cried behind her.

"I'll agree to this," Charley continued, ignoring her friend's pleas, "if, and only if, you agree to let my friends go. Take them back up, and I'll help you become a happy husband."

Pit Boss frowned thoughtfully, clearly giving this some thought, which surprised Charley. Then, he turned back and smiled.

"Marry me, and I'll let them go free," he held out his hand in offering.

Charley breathed in, steeling herself. Then, she walked forward and took Pit Boss' hand. She felt her heart break as she heard gasps and cries behind, as she and Pit Boss shook hands.

"Well, c'mon my fiancée, we've got us a wedding to arrange," Pit Boss laughed gleefully as he pulled Charley out of the cage.

Although she knew she should be worrying about the others, or when the bros would arrive, only one thought was passing through Charley's head.

_What have I done?_


	5. The last boundary crossed

Author's note: This chapter has taken far longer than I ever expected it to. I guess a lot of people might have thought I'd abandoned this story. I'm sorry for the wait, I'm one of those unfortunate people who have a lot in their heads, but doesn't always an easy access point to it all. I'll try to update sooner this time. Fingers crossed.

* * *

The last boundary crossed

Vinnie knew he had to turn away, to stop staring. But he couldn't stop. He just kept staring down, into the Pits. His anger was boiling just below the surface of his white fur. He had to turn away, and let himself cool off.

"Vincent, you listening bro?" Throttle called out.

Vinnie turned round to face Throttle and Modo, standing by a large crane. It was the same kind of crane Charley had used when the bros had first ventured into the pits.

Vinnie shook his head and walked over, breathing deep so as to try and chill his temper. Getting mad at Throttle and Modo wouldn't help anything.

Modo said nothing, but noticed how Vinnie was standing. He was usually laid back, casual. But toady, right now, he was standing straight, attentive. It was the same way he had stood during the Plutarkian War, when Stoker told them something bad, or when he was laying out a plan. Vinnie was always serious during those times, and it was almost shocking for Modo to see his bro so like that again.

"Okay, Modo's gonna stay up here and operate the crane. Vinnie, you and I are gonna make our way down to the Pits, and we're gonna look for the girls," Throttle spoke firmly; this was one of those times when everyone followed the plan.

Vinnie didn't say anything, but walked straight to his bike and geared up. His pushed his bike to the precipice, and waited silently.

Throttle watched Modo take to the crane and slowly lowered the hooks. Seeing that it was time to move out, he joined Vinnie. Behind his shades, his cybertronic eyes shifted towards Vinnie.

"Hey, Vinnie."

"Yeah?"

"Believe me; I wanna punch Pit Boss' face in just as much as you for what he's done today."

"But?" Vinnie asked venomously.

"We have to get the girls out. That's our goal, and it takes top priority. You got that?"

Vinnie felt his forehead tremble. He wasn't sure what he was angry about any more, but Throttle was really close to pushing the wrong buttons. He turned away and said nothing.

"Vincent, you'll stay up here with the crane if I don't get a response."

"Yeah—" he spat, but quickly stopped himself from going any further. Again, he took a deep breath in and exhaled as calmly as he could. "Yeah, I got it."

"Good," Throttle nodded, reaching up for the hook and attaching it to his bike. "Charley always comes first," he stated as Modo lowered him down.

Vinnie watched the tan mouse descend, and suddenly felt very grateful to him. He could have said anything, mentioned to Vinnie to keep his cool, but instead he mentioned Charley. He had focused Vinnie's mind to who they were really here for.

Suddenly feeling a lot calmer and more focused than before, Vinnie grabbed the hook and strapped it to his bike. He gave Modo a quick wave before his disappeared out of sight.

It seemed to take forever for the pair to descend down into Pits, longer than when Vinnie had gone down last time when he was rescuing his bros. It didn't seem right that the mechanic who had helped him rescuing his bros was now the one he had to rescue.

_Don't think like that!_ Vinnie berated himself. _Charley-girl's gonna be fine. I'm gonna save her and everything will be fine._

At last, their bikes touched the ground. Throttle held a finger up to his helmet, to which Vinnie nodded. They were going to show the Pit crew what it meant to be as silent as mice. They were still for a time, surveying the surroundings and checking to whether their arrival had been detected. Fortunately for them, every one was oblivious.

Two clicks in his helmet made Throttle activate the comm. Vinnie raised a hand to his own to do the same. The quiet sound of static filled their ears.

"We're down, Modo," Throttle informed their friend in a hushed voice.

"Understood, I'll wait for you to give me a call, then I'll pull you up," The grey mouse stated, reciting the plan that Vinnie had been too hot-headed to be listen to.

"Right…. radio silence from here on in, Modo," Throttle ordered.

"Understood," Modo acknowledged, and then the comm turned off.

"Let's find the girls, Vinnie," Throttle looked over to the white mouse.

Vinnie nodded in reply and turned the comm off. The tan mouse was more than a little concerned by his bro's silence, but knew better than to impose.

Modo hadn't been the only one to be reminded of the Vinnie from the war. While there had been times when that Vinnie had been the same rambunctious mouse that he was now, he had been a much more serious mouse back then. And, Throttle remembered, Vinnie had also been a touch more dangerous. Throttle found it more than a little disturbing that this was all it took to bring back the old Vinnie.

Quietly, they set off. They kept their revs down so as not to attract attention, but as it turned out, they hadn't needed to bother. No less than two hundred yards ahead of them was a roofless cage. And inside that cage, Throttle noticed, were four white figures.

_Four figures…_Throttle thought suspiciously. _Where's the fifth?_

Regardless, they both approached quietly and observed the figures. All of them had mud and slime caked onto their dresses to the point where none of them looked any finer than another. Three of the women were sitting together, the one in the middle was crying while the other two were trying to consolidate her. The fourth was standing stock still, staring at what appeared to be a door to the cage. The standing figure had dark hair and pale skin.

Without thinking, Vinnie tore of his helmet and rushed off his bike and to the bars. He stared desperately at the woman, whose face he could not see. _It has to be her,_ he told himself, _it has to be!_

"Charley!" he whispered, his voice sounded somewhat strangled as he tried to keep it down.

_Thwack_! Throttle cuffed him round the back of the head, and then proceeded to take his helmet off. He faced Vinnie and did not flinch at the murderous look he received.

"She's not there," Throttle muttered plainly, trying not to feel down as he saw Vinnie's face fall.

"Psst! Psst! Hey!" he hissed to the women.

When one turned and saw them, she started. Fearing that she would shriek, Throttle quickly raised a finger to his mouth. When she did nothing but stare at them, he beckoned her over. At first she did not move, and Throttle had to beckon her some more, but eventually the woman's curiosity overcame her fear and she crept over.

Her departure was not missed and the other two looked over to the two mice. With both of them beckoning them over, occasionally motioning to them not to make a sound. Finally, all four of them were standing before the mice.

"I'm Throttle, and this is Vinnie," Throttle introduced. "We're friends of Charley."

At that, two of the women looked like they were about to burst into tears. Throttle was starting to feel afraid. _What's happened here? Is Charley…?_ he wondered. Then, as if to answer his silent questions, one woman stepped forward.

"I'm Emma; the others are Harmony, Kate and Liz. Charley said you'd come, but I wasn't sure if I should believe her."

"Where is Charley?" Vinnie asked in a calm voice.

"I don't know, none of us do. He just came and took her."

"Whose 'he'?" Throttle asked, although the sinking feeling in his stomach told him that he already knew the answer.

"Some guy with blond hair and a bald patch on the top of his head," Emma shook her head, not knowing what else to say.

Throttle shuddered inside. He had known the answer, and this was starting to look pretty dangerous, not for him and Vinnie, but for the Pit Boss. He could see how much Vinnie was fuming, and he had only seen the white mouse like this once before.

The last time had been when Harley, the mechanic and first aid expert of the Freedom Fighters, had been taken. Vinnie had had the same murderous look as he did now, and this time, the enemy had no chance of a quick escape.

As much as Throttle didn't want to add any more oil to Vinnie already fiery temper, he had to ask. He reluctantly turned to Emma.

"What does he want Charley for?"

"He said that he wanted to marry her," another woman, Kate, piped.

Vinnie's face dropped like a lead weight. Shock and outrage was all the more present. Without even thinking, he turned back to his bike. He had to find them. He had to save Charley. He had to make Pit Boss pay for what he'd done. He-

-turned round when something gripped his tail. It was Throttle. Vinnie was about to comment when the tan mouse released him. Throttle cocked his head to the bars.

"You think you could open it up before you go off to rescue Charley?" Throttle asked, well aware that nothing he said would stop Vinnie from going.

Vinnie stared at him for a while, saying nothing. And then, Throttle's words finally began to seep in. He wasn't trying to stop him, or slow him down; he just wanted Vinnie to open the cage so he could get the girls out of the Pits. Once he'd done that, then Vinnie could go after Pit Boss, and Throttle was letting him go.

Vinnie was instantly back at the cage and brought out a flare. He ignited it and placed it near the bars. It wasn't long before the bars began to weaken and melt. Once four bars had been severely weakened, Vinnie pulled each of them out.

The women took no haste in departing their prison. Once they were out, they turned to the two mice. They looked unsure of their rescuers, but they had said that they were friends of Charley, and the girls felt that they were willing to go on a little faith.

"What now?" Emma asked.

"I'm gonna get you out of here, and Vinnie-" Throttle looked over his shoulder to his bro.

He wasn't surprised to find that no one was there. He turned back to the girls.

"He's gonna get Charley," he finished.

Throttle said no more, and led the four women back to where the cable hung, and where Modo was waiting patiently for someone to holler. He pushed his bike, so they could keep up. They all walked in silence, all praying Vinnie the best of luck to find the last girl.

Throttle had his own separate prayer. He knew that he, Modo and Vinnie each lived by a certain code of conduct and honour, and felt strongly against anyone who broke such a code, even if they didn't live by it. He also knew that Vinnie was far too emotional in this already. If he found Charley being treated unacceptably, then he may just snap… he may just cross that boundary, that line that they all swore never to cross.

Throttle prayed that Vinnie didn't cross the last boundary.


	6. The final moment

_The final moment..._

Tears ran down Charley's face. She didn't want them to, but there was nothing she could do to stem the flow. She couldn't even wipe away the ones that fell down her face. As much as she wanted to, she dared not.

Pit Boss had left her in a cage, smaller than the one she had been in with Harmony Emma, Kate and Liz. She missed them all. She missed them if nothing more than for their company. Here, she was cold, hungry and alone… so terribly, terribly alone.

And, to make the matter all the worse, Pit Boss had had her restrained, so she couldn't run away. He had clasped wrought iron manacles onto both her wrists, as if one hadn't been enough.

_Wrought iron… who the hell uses wrought iron anymore?!_ Charley thought miserably.

The manacles were heavy on her thin arms, and had been left to the elements for too long. The rust that came off them came off in flakes, and it went everywhere. Whilst trapped in the centre of the huge restraints, it irritated Charley's skin, and she was certain that it would be red once the manacles came off. At the edges, it not only itched, but the edges of the cuffs dug into her skin, making the area red and painful.

She had given up trying to scratch the area around the manacles; it didn't make the itch go away and it just made the area sore. Every so often, she would raise her hands to wipe her face, and would then remember what hideous substances lay in wait, and would have to force herself to return her hands to her lap.

Charley wasn't sure how it had happened, but she had somehow rubbed some of the rust onto her face, probably whilst trying to wipe away the many tears, and now her face felt itchy and painful. She felt so afraid to touch her face that she let the tears run down her face. She didn't care much that the limited makeup she had put on was ruined, but it was more to the point that the tears did her no favours in removing the rust from the ore sensitive parts of her face.

Although it didn't bother her excessively, she knew that the dress she wore was ruined. She didn't bother looking down at the sight, because she knew what she would see. There would be black marks of grime and mud, red from the rust flakes that had decided to embed themselves into the fabric, and not to mention stains from her tears that had fallen onto the dress. Tears mixed with makeup… There was no chance of the shop taking it back, and they would demand the rest of the money to pay for the dress, as she had only rented it.

She found herself wondering about the mice, those three gorgeous biker mice. They had been her saviours for so long, and she had always been there for them whenever they needed her. It was beginning to feel as if they had always been there, watching over her, protecting her, and just being there for her. She couldn't describe how wonderful such a feeling was.

She wondered what they would think of the situation she was in. _The situation you put yourself in, Charley-girl!_ she thought to herself. But she remembered who would have been here if she hadn't done this. Harmony. She was determined that the woman would never find out about this, for as long as she lived, no one would find out about this.

However, her wish never came true.

Above her, several feet above her, was someone who was watching her. That someone was using his fingers to tear up the ground that he was lying on and his tail was thrashing like a thing possessed.

Vinnie had never felt so angry. He had been there for a while, watching the guards. He had been wondering why so many people were in this part of the pits, and then he had seen the cage, and more precisely, he had seen the white figure in the cage. His confusion had turned to annoyance, and then to anger once he realised that Charley was being restrained.

His sensitive ears had picked up muffled sobs, the kind that people make when they're trying not to cry. And once he noticed how Charley was avoiding her wrists or face, he understood that something hurt… and it hurt badly.

It was so infuriating. He was so close to her, and yet, he wasn't any nearer to freeing her. He had to sit up here, listen to her crying, watch her being in pain, and there was sod all he could do about it. _You could always turn away…_ he thought to himself, but he would have been more likely to kiss Karbunkle full on the mouth, not to mention more willing.

He was determined to find something, some way he could let Charley know that she wasn't alone, that he would be there soon, and that they'd be out of the pits before she knew it. But he was at a loss as to how he was to give her a message without alerting the Pit Crew to him.

A figure suddenly entered his vision, and he felt his anger go up a notch, and the boiling rage he had been feeling suddenly went to ice cold hatred. He knew that figure, and the last person he wanted Charley to see, let alone meet, was walking proudly up to the cage.

Charley raised her head to glare openly at the Pit Boss. She held back her disgust as she observed the man. He had gotten out of his biker getup, and was now wearing a formal suit, which looked like it had been designed for someone a few sizes smaller than Pit Boss. She could see his beer-belly sticking out from beneath the shirt, and the buttons on said shirt looked like they were ready to break off and fly in any and all directions, probably breaking the sound barrier on the way.

She didn't even want to know how he had managed to get into the trousers.

"Well, well, well…. What have I got here?" Pit Boss smiled, his yellow teeth showing in all their horrid glory. "Crying my pet? Are you so happy to be getting married that you're crying?"

Charley swallowed with some difficulty, but she refused to give Pit Boss the satisfaction of hearing her trying to be brave, while her voice cracked mid-sentence. She kept her tongue firmly behind her teeth, if not to spite the Pit Boss, then to make sure she didn't get any of the rust flakes into her mouth. She kept glaring at him though.

"So happy you can't find the words?" Pit Boss asked gleefully, mockingly.

_If only you knew the words I have in my head, _Charley thought venomously, but another thought came to her almost instantly afterwards. It was a sad little thought, and it brought many more tears to her eyes, tears that she didn't want Pit Boss to see.

_I want to go home. I want to go home_

"Pit Boss!"

Charley raised her head to look at one of Pit Boss' henchmen running up to him. She didn't know the man's name, nor did she want to.

"Pit Boss, they're gone!"

"What?" Pit Boss asked, confused.

"Them girls… the ones with your missus, they're gone!" the man explained.

"What!" Pit Boss yelled, his face turning an amusing shade of puce.

"There's a hole in one side of the cage, the bars are melted away. I think someone busted them out!"

_Vinnie! _Charley thought with a rush of joy. _Only he could melt away metal bars so quickly. They've come! They're coming to get me!_

As if some invisible entity had been waiting for that moment, something whispered to Charley to turn around. _Turn around and look._

Doing as she had been told, she turned round to look behind her. As her eyes met the mound, she lifted her eyes skywards, scanning the mound for something, anything. And then, when her sight found the top of the mound, she saw him. She saw his white head and ears, and she even fancied that she could see the glint off his metal face-plate.

"Vinnie," she whispered, new tears falling down her face. Tears of absolute joy and relief.

Vinnie heard her voice, only barely, and he knew that now was the time. Now, he had to save her. It was now, or never.

He ducked away for a moment, and looked over to his bike. He gave it whistle and watched it roar to life, obviously as eager for the fight as he was. He quickly looked back down, to check that nothing had dramatically changed. Satisfied, he turned back to his bike and mounted it.

He placed his helmet onto his head and set off, full speed, towards the edge. As he went over, he prepared himself for himself for the fight. Lasers appeared out of his bike, all eager to start singing.

Once he hit the ground, all hell broke loose.


End file.
